Blogs on Lord Hanuman

“Naase Rog, Hare Sab Peera, Japat Nirantra Hanumat Veera”- ailments and illness vanish, all pains go away for those who continuously immerse themselves in the recitation of the fearless Hanuman’s name”. “Laaye Sanjeevani Lakhan Jiyaye, Sri Raghubir Harashi Ur Laaye”- “You brought the Sanjeevani herb which rejuvenated Lakshmana, seeing which a blissed Lord Rama embraced you with affection.” Hanuman, the son of Anjani and Kesari, the 11th Rudra avatar of Lord Shiva and the most powerful devotee of Sri Rama is a name for a Hindu devotee that instills strength, positivity, and devotion in the heart.

Agni, the god of fire, blessed him with immunity to fire. Surya, the sun god, gave him the power to change the size of his body. Yama blessed him with good health and immortality. Vishwakarma, the divine architect, offered a boon that he would be safe from all objects of his creation. Invincible and immortal are the words primarily associated with him. He is Hanuman. Hanuman is one of the many deities of the Hindu tradition. He is regarded as the monkey-general of a mythic monkey kingdom, known as Kiskindha. In Hindu tradition, Hanuman is most commonly known for his role in the Ramayana, in which he is a great ally to Rama and Laksmana . The Ramayana describes how Hanuman was devoted to Rama and willingly set off to Lanka to search for Sita. Rama is unable to go himself; he had been expelled from the city for his 14-year exile. Earlier in the Ramayana, Rama had said that “everywhere, even among the animals, can be found good creatures that follow the ways of righteousness, that are brave and provide a sure place of refuge”.

There are undoubtedly numerous icons and figures in Hinduism and in Indian culture. While the gods and goddesses always take precedence, another significant figure is that of Hanuman. Hanuman is a famed companion of the god Rama and takes the form of a divine monkey. As such, stories about Hanuman can be found in the Ramayana, which is one of the most important epics in Indian culture. Aside from being the companion of Rama, another one of his roles is that of the commander of the monkey army. The precise definition of the name Hanuman seems to be unclear. However, legend has it that one morning, Hanuman flew into the sky in order to grab the sun, which he mistook for a fruit. This act led Indra, who is the king of the gods, to strike Hanuman on the jaw with a thunderbolt, thus breaking and disfiguring his jaw. The name Hanuman emerged from this as it means “one having a disfigured jaw”. Hanuman is also referred to by many other names, including Hanumat, Anuman, Anjaneya, Kesarisuta, and Kapeeshwara, among others.

Hanuman, the ancient monkey-divinity of India: for many, he represents the force of life in man's struggle to exist. He is most known for his devotion to the god-king Rama, and for his exploits as leader of the monkey army that helped save Rama's princess from the demon-king of Lanka. Yet in northern parts of the country, Hanuman is a god of great importance in his own right. There he is worshiped as the epitome of strength and vitality; popular legends associate him not so much with the self-restrained Rama as with Siva, possessor of creative and destructive energy. Hanuman is well known throughout India-rural and urban, north and south. He appears in much Sanskrit and vernacular dramatic literature, and in epic poems; he is the central hero of many folk stories, and a popular subject of village plays and dances. His likeness in stone and wood adorns many shrines. Brightly coloured pictures of him are hawked in city streets and pasted to the walls of homes and shops. In his honour, monkeys are fed in the precincts of many temples. Whether as Hanuman or as Mahavira ("Great Hero") he is known to almost every Hindu-children and adults, literate and illiterate alike.